Westmoreland category, Page 761
Salem Township sibling rivalry tested at Westmoreland Fair swine competitionVideo
The friendly sister relationship ended at the pig arena. The crowd hushed Wednesday as sisters Alli and Aspen Jobe and several other finalists brought their animals into the ring for the final leg of the swine showmanship competition at the Westmoreland Fair. The Salem Township pair made eye contact with...
Murrysville teen brings home 8 ribbons from Westmoreland Fair
Ian Sunny of Murrysville is on a roll this week at the Westmoreland Fair. And chances are, if he had baked a tray of rolls, he’d have won a ribbon for that, too. Sunny, 16, a junior at Franklin Regional Senior High School, brought home eight ribbons from the fair...
Judge hears arguments in Franklin Regional’s Sloan ‘elementary campus’ appeal case
Judge Harry Smail has a lot to consider in an appeal of Murrysville council’s approval of an “elementary school campus” project for the Franklin Regional School District. Smail heard oral arguments Wednesday in Common Pleas Court from attorneys representing three parties to the appeal — the municipality, school district and...
Judge’s order continues restrictions on Rostraver landfill
A consent order signed by a Fayette County judge Wednesday prohibits the discharge of harmful effluent into the Monongahela River by a landfill and a treatment facility. The action by Common Pleas Judge Steve Leskinen continues a 90-day order he issued in May at the request of Fayette County District...
Calf born at Westmoreland Fair, named after longtime workerVideo
There are two high profile Marians at the Westmoreland Fair. One has reddish hair and runs the information booth all day. The second was born at the fairgrounds Friday night and has four legs. Marian Parker of North Huntingdon, meet Marian the Holstein calf. “I go see Marian every day,”...
GoFundMe accounts created for 20-year-old Crabtree man severely beaten with baseball bat
Collision Shoppe owner Jason Mignogna says he was stunned Monday after learning that Justin Hayden, a worker at his Unity auto repair shop, was critically injured after being beaten outside his home in Crabtree. “In today’s world, you really don’t know what to initially think, but anyone who has ever...
Latrobe’s Great American Banana Split Celebration promises a sweet weekend
A classic ice cream dessert that’s been making people smile since 1904 is once again deserving of an annual summertime salute. Latrobe serves up its 115th Great American Banana Split Celebration Aug. 23-25. The party takes place in downtown Latrobe, where the banana split was first invented by David Strickler,...
Kathryn Elder returns to Greater Latrobe School Board as appointee
Retired Greater Latrobe School Board member Kathryn Elder returned to take a seat on the board this week as a temporary appointee. Elder, who decided not to seek re-election in 2017, after 35 years of service as a school director, was named Tuesday to complete the remaining few months in...
Westmoreland County training program highlights LGBTQ communityVideo
Jo Tauber knows firsthand the challenges that members of the LGBTQ community face every day in Westmoreland County. Tauber, 30, of Penn Township, said she’s been lucky to have been accepted by her family and friends but she understands her story may be different from others who identify as lesbian,...
Petition to change Hempfield stadium name in honor of Terry Ranieri gaining tractionVideo
It took only 15 hours for over 3,500 people to sign a petition to have the name of Hempfield’s Spartan Stadium changed to honor a longtime Spartan football and band fan, inching just shy of the 5,000-signature goal. Terry Ranieri, who would greet fans at games while watching the band...
FBI: Reports of ‘underaged’ massage parlor workers led to probe linked to Western Pa.
A federal investigation that culminated in the arrest of a Florida man accused of operating a human trafficking ring through massage parlors from the Sunshine State to Pennsylvania, including five in Western Pennsylvania, began in 2017 after complaints made to a national hotline, according to court documents. David C. Williams,...
Bottle rocket competition soars at Westmoreland FairVideo
Among the bottle rocket aficionados at the Westmoreland Fair, there’s a debate about which pop bottle works best. “Pepsi works better than Coke,” said Lyndsey Androstic, announcer for Tuesday’s 4-H rocket competition at the Peoples Grandstand Arena. Others swear by Mountain Dew. Regardless, what garnered the most attention on Tuesday...
Hempfield band, community show support for Terry Ranieri, their biggest fanVideo
A special performance for a beloved member of the Hempfield community shut down a township neighborhood Tuesday. Members of the Hempfield Area marching band played outside Terry Ranieri’s Beacon Valley Road home while he sat at a front window and listened from inside. About 100 band members, flanked by at...
Latrobe zoning panel turns down nonprofit’s plan for Depot Street offices
Faith Forward Ministries’ plan for moving some of its office staff to a donated house on Latrobe’s Depot Street hit a roadblock this week when the city’s zoning hearing board denied a needed variance. Eric Cosby, who moved to deny the Latrobe-based nonprofit’s request for the variance at Depot and...
Motivational quotes at Hempfield school to spur positive behavior
“Your attitude determines your direction.” “Be a buddy not a bully.” “Be kind.” These are just a few motivational words West Point Elementary students will see when school starts Thursday. Stuck to the walls of almost every bathroom stall in the Hempfield school, the quotes are a way to spread...
The hazards of ‘Running While Female’
The thrill of hitting the trail at full stride and the exhilaration of the fabled “runner’s high” is often replaced by fear and trepidation for female runners in the area, across the country and around the world. Aug. 21 marks one year since the discovery of the body of 20-year-old...
Norwin cuts ties with Chinese student exchange program
Norwin has cut ties to an educational firm that brought Chinese students and educators to one of its schools last year. The Norwin School District will terminate its August 2018 agreement with the International Foundation Alliance-EDU Chinese Youth Ambassador Program, which was to send a group of Chinese students to...
Fire chief: Cutting tool sparked oil tank fire in Derry Township
Firefighters from Bradenville and Derry quickly doused a tank of home heating oil that caught fire during demolition of a mobile home Monday evening on West Third Street at Hickory Avenue in Derry Township. Fire units were called to the scene after 8:15 p.m. and knocked the flames down within...
Franklin Regional OKs $35 million bond sale for Sloan Elementary projectVideo
The Franklin Regional School Board agreed to issue up to $35 million in bonds to fund the bulk of the Sloan “elementary campus” project, the same week that the district will be in court to face a group opposed to the plan. The project includes construction of a new elementary...
Geibel Catholic launching awareness campaign to boost enrollmentVideo
Faced with a drop in enrollment and the challenge of operating a private school in a region with declining demographics, Geibel Catholic Junior-Senior High School officials Monday unveiled a visibility plan for re-branding the school and a social media push to increase awareness of its quality education. “The goal is...
Murrysville’s Sardis precincts boundary lines questioned
Westmoreland County elections officials said Monday they suspect voters who live near the border between Murrysville and Washington Township might be casting ballots in the wrong municipality. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said the county believes for the last two decades it has used outdated maps to determine voting districts...
Search warrants in Unity woman’s disappearance to remain sealed
Seventeen search warrants detailing the investigation into last year’s disappearance of a Unity woman will remain under seal, at least for another month, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Monday. Following a closed-door hearing with two county prosecutors and a state police trooper, Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger ordered the...
Rostraver Eat’n Park waiter serves up simple act of kindness to WWII veteran
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. Or so the saying goes. On Saturday evening, Lisa Meilander saw an example of simple kindness that so struck her she decided to post something publicly about it on Facebook. “I don’t normally make my posts public,” she said....
One person reported injured in Murrysville accident, dispatchers say
One person was reported injured Monday in a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Vincent Hall Road and William Penn Highway in Murrysville, according to Westmoreland County dispatchers. The accident occurred at 4:13 p.m., dispatchers said. The injured person had to be extricated from a vehicle that overturned following the...
March for Parks surpasses $1 million in fundraising
The county’s annual March for Parks event has surpassed the $1 million fundraising mark, as residents, businesses and organizations have come together since 2003 to raise money for improvements at places like the Westmoreland Heritage Trail, Mammoth Park and Cedar Creek Park. The 17th annual March for Parks this past...
